UK police ranks - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on UK police ranks Wikis Advertisements Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics Territorial police forces · Special police forces · Port police · Park police ( London ) · Service police · Non-police · Other Types of agent Accredited Person · Bailiff · Civil enforcement officer · Constable · Court security officer · Customs officer · Traffic officer · Immigration officer · Police Community Support Officer · Police Custody and Security Officer · Tipstaff · Traffic warden · Water bailiff · Wildlife inspector Concepts Chief police officer · Home Office · Police area · Police authority · Police cadets · Police Federation of England and Wales · Scottish Police Federation · Police Oath · Police powers in: England and Wales - Scotland - Northern Ireland · Scotland Yard · Warrant card Acts Law · Courts · Prisons Most of the police forces of the United Kingdom use a standardised set of ranks, with a slight variation in the most senior ranks for Greater London 's Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police .

[1] [2] Most of the British police ranks that exist today were chosen by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel , the founder of the Metropolitan Police, enacted under the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 . The ranks at that time were deliberately chosen so that they did not correspond with military ranking (with the exception of Sergeant), due to fears of a paramilitary force. Contents 10 References Rank insignia Badges of rank are usually worn on the epaulettes . However, when in formal uniform Sergeants wear their rank insignia on their upper sleeves. [1] [2] When police tunics had closed collars (not open collars as worn with ties), Constables and Sergeants did not wear epaulettes but had their divisional call number on their collar (hence the fact that they are still often referred to as collar numbers ). Sergeants wore their stripes on their upper sleeve. Inspectors and more senior ranks wore epaulettes at a much earlier stage, although they once wore their rank insignia on their collars. Most forces no longer utilise divisional call numbers, and retain only the collar number and rank insignia.

United Kingdom police ranks (up to Chief Superintendent) Rank United Kingdom police ranks (chief officers) County police Commissioner Insignia The above ranks are used by all territorial forces in the United Kingdom , and specialist national forces such as the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police . Other specialist forces, and those outside of the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands , the Isle of Man and Gibraltar ) use the same general system, but often have fewer senior ranks. In Britain, Chief Constable is the title of the head of each British territorial police force except the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police, which are headed by Commissioners . Ranks above Chief Superintendent are usually non-operational management roles, and are often referred to as "Chief Officer" ranks. Epaulettes are normally black with white sewn on or silver metal insignia, although high-visibility uniforms are often yellow with black insignia. Usually senior officers wear distinguishing marks around the outer edge of the peaks of their caps (or under the capbadge for female officers, who do not wear peaked caps).

Normally this is a raised black band for inspectors and chief inspectors, a silver or gold band for superintendents and chief superintendents, and a row of silver or gold oakleaves for chief officers. Chief constables, the Commissioner of the City of London Police, and all commissioner ranks of the Metropolitan Police wear oakleaves on both the outer and inner edges of their peaks (or a double row beneath the capbadge for female officers). Examples of variations Commissioner The City of London Police Commissioner has the unique status of not holding the office of constable, but it is classed as a Justice of the Peace. This was the same for the Metropolitan Police Service until recent years with Sir Paul Condon being the last Commissioner to have this status, along with his deputies. The Commissioner has the power to attest his own officers as constables without putting them before a local Magistrate to do so, as happened in the Metropolitan Police. The City of London Police also have variations for some acting ranks such as Sergeant and Inspector . Acting Sergeants, are denoted by 3 pointed chevrons above the collar number. Temporary and full Sergeants have the chevrons below the collar number.

Acting Inspectors are denoted by a crown in the place of division letter, whilst keeping the collar number and chevrons. Royal Ulster Constabulary/Police Service of Northern Ireland The Royal Ulster Constabulary was headed by an Inspector-General and had a different rank structure until 1969, when it fully adopted the rank system used elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The RUC has now been replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland , which uses the same ranks, but has a different version of the rank insignia, with the star from the PSNI badge replacing the crown. [3] Unusually, the star is worn below the pip by Chief Superintendents and by the Chief Constable, who wears both symbols above his tipstaves. The PSNI has retained the RUC's distinctive inverted (point-up) Sergeants' chevrons. Isle of Man Constabulary Constable Insignia For a comparison of these ranks with other British police forces see Police ranks of the United Kingdom. Miscellaneous constabularies For more details on this topic, see List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom#Miscellaneous constabularies .

There are, in the United Kingdom, a number of miscellaneous constabularies. These are not operated, regulated or funded by the Home Office, although they are fully authorised (by Act of Parliament) establishments. In general they provide the policing for ports, docks, tunnels, or other particular institutions. Although these forces tend to require high standards of training and accountability, which closely mirror those of the Home Office police forces, they are usually much smaller in terms of personnel, and therefore utilise fewer of the 'standard' ranks. One example is shown below, being the rank structure of the Port of Dover Police , in Kent. Insignia Powers In law, every member of a police force is a Constable whatever their actual rank, in the sense that despite being a low ranking or high ranking officer all have the same powers of arrest. The basic police powers of arrest and search of an ordinary Constable are identical to those of a Superintendent or Chief Constable; however certain higher ranks are given administrative powers to authorise certain police actions.

These include the powers to: authorise the continued detention of up to 24 hours of a person arrested for an offence and brought to a Police station (granted to Sergeants), authorise section 18 (1) PACE house searches (granted to Inspectors), or extend the length of prisoner detention to 36 hours (granted to Superintendents). Some powers are matters of force or national policy, such as authorising the use of tyre deflation devices , and authorising the use of safe controlled crashes of pursued vehicles, by trained traffic police officers . In relation to police officers of the Home Office or territorial police forces of England and Wales, Section 30 of the Police Act 1996 states that "a member of a police force shall have all the powers and privileges of a Constable throughout England and Wales and the adjacent United Kingdom waters". Police officers do not need to be on duty to exercise their powers and can act off duty if circumstances require it (technically placing themselves back on duty). Officers from the police forces of Scotland and Northern Ireland and non-territorial special police forces have different jurisdictions. See List of police forces in the United Kingdom for a fuller description of jurisdictions.

Detectives Officers holding ranks up to and including Chief Superintendent who are members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or Special Branch (and certain other units) have the prefix " Detective " before their rank. Due to the nature of their duties these officers generally wear plain clothes and so do not wear the corresponding rank insignia. However, they still operate within the same structure as uniformed officers. It is a misconception often portrayed by the media that detective ranks are superior to those of uniformed officers. However, in the United Kingdom this is not the case, and a Detective Sergeant has the same powers and authority as a uniformed Sergeant. The "Detective" prefix designates that the officer has a proven investigative ability and has received suitable training and passed related examinations, to conduct all manner of criminal investigations. Special Constables A Special Constable is a volunteer police officer, with the same powers as a regular officer. The main role of a "special" is to work with the local Constabulary to provide an additional and heightened police presence on the streets and in the local community. They may also be requested to police particular events such as football matches and community events.

In the special constabulary, there are various grades which assist in the tasking and management of the constabulary. The persons holding these grades have no additional power within law and are "outranked" by any regular officer. Most forces use a rank system of bars. Special constabulary epaulettes frequently bear the letters "SC", a crown, or both to differentiate them from regular officers, however with some forces, such as the Avon and Somerset Constabulary , British Transport Police , Hampshire Constabulary , Northamptonshire Police and Cheshire Constabulary , only the collar number designates them as a special constable. Senior special constables wear the same markings on their cap peaks as equivalent regular ranks.

City of London Special Constabulary The City of London Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority): Special Constable (SC logo, divisional letter and shoulder number) Special Sergeant (SC logo, divisional letter, shoulder number and one bar) Special Inspector (SC logo, two bars) Special Chief Inspector (SC logo, three bars) Special Superintendent (SC logo, four bars) Special Commandant (SC logo, laurel wreath with four bars inside) The City of London Special Constabulary also includes the Honourable Artillery Company Specials , members of this unit wear HAC on the shoulders in addition to other insignia. Avon and Somerset Special Constabulary The Avon and Somerset Constabulary uses the following grades. They do not use an SC logo but prefer to use shoulder numbers beginning with a 5 or 6.

Special Constable (collar number) Special Sergeant (new rank introduced in February 2010; one bar and collar number) Special Inspector (Area Officer until February 2010; two bars) Special Chief Inspector (District Officer until February 2010; three bars) Dorset Special Constabulary The Dorset Police uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority). Dorset does not use the SC logo. Collar numbers range from 3000 to 3999 and from 4500 to 4999. Special Constable (collar number) Deputy Section Officer (one bar and collar number) Section Officer (two bars and collar number) Divisional Officer (three bars and collar number) Chief Officer (four bars and collar number) Hampshire Special Constabulary The Hampshire Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority). Hampshire Constabulary does not use the SC logo, however, all start with the number 9, for example: 9592, 99802.

Special Constable (collar number) Deputy Chief Specials Officer (three bars) Chief Specials Officer (laurel wreath) Merseyside Special Constabulary The Merseyside Special Constabulary use the rank insignia of regular officers rather than the system of bars, as follows (in increasing order of seniority): Special Constable (SC logo and shoulder number) Special Sergeant (SC logo, shoulder number and three chevrons) Special Inspector (SC logo, two pips) Special Chief Inspector (SC logo, three pips) Special Superintendent (SC logo, crown) Special Assistant Chief Officer (SC logo, crown) Special Chief Officer (laurel wreath with four bars inside) Metropolitan Special Constabulary The Metropolitan Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority): Special Constable (SC logo, borough code and shoulder number) Special Sergeant (previously Sub Divisional Officer (SDO)) (SC logo, borough code, shoulder number and one bar) Special Inspector (previously Divisional Officer (DO) or Borough Divisional Officer (BDO)) (SC logo, two bars) Assistant Chief Officer (SC logo, three bars) Deputy Chief Officer (SC logo, three bars) Chief Officer

 (SC logo, four bars) Suffolk Special Constabulary The Suffolk Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority): Special Constable (SC logo, Suffolk Constabulary 'castle' and shoulder number) Special Sergeant (SC logo, Suffolk Constabulary 'castle', one bar and shoulder number) Special Inspector (SC logo, two bars; no 'castle' or shoulder number) Special Superintendent (SC logo, three bars) Chief Officer (laurel wreath with four bars inside) Surrey Special Constabulary The Surrey Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority): Special Constable (Surrey Police crest and shoulder number) Special Sergeant (Surrey Police crest and one bar; no shoulder number) Special Inspector (Surrey Police crest and two bars) Special Chief Inspector (three bars) Assistant Chief Officer (laurel wreath with two bars inside) Deputy Chief Officer (laurel wreath with three bars inside) Chief Officer (laurel wreath with four bars inside) Thames Valley Special Constabulary The Thames Valley Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority): [4] Special Constable (SC logo and shoulder number)

 Special Sergeant (SC logo, one bar and shoulder number) Special Inspector (SC logo, two bars) Special Chief Inspector (SC logo, three bars) Assistant Chief Officer (laurel wreath with two bars inside) Chief Officer (laurel wreath with four bars inside) Warwickshire Special Constabulary The Warwickshire Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority; the SC logo incorporates a crown).

Ranks changed at the end of 2009. Shoulder numbers have four digits, beginning with a 3. Special Constable (SC logo and collar number) Special Sergeant (Section Officer until 2009; SC logo, one bar and collar number) Special Inspector (Area Officer until 2009; SC logo, two bars) Special Chief Inspector (Senior Area Officer until 2009; SC logo, three bars) Deputy Chief Officer (SC logo, laurel wreath with three bars inside; three bars until 2006) Chief Officer (SC logo, laurel wreath with four bars inside; four bars until 2006) Community Support Officers Police Community Support Officers in general do not have a rank system: their epaulettes simply bear the words POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER and their shoulder number, or in the Metropolitan Police, a borough identification code and shoulder number. Exceptions to this are found in South Yorkshire and Kent Police who also have PCSO Supervisors. The South Yorkshire epaulettes have a 'Bar' above the wording Police Community Support Officer Supervisor - Traffic with the shoulder number beneath.

Trainee, temporary and acting ranks Uniformed Constables who are training to become Detective Constables sometimes bear the title "T/I" meaning Trainee Investigator or "T/DC" meaning Trainee Detective Constable. Some police forces use the prefix "T" before the rank (eg. T/DS, T/DI, T/CI) to denote officers who have been temporarily promoted to those ranks, but who will return to their substantive rank at some future time. Such officers are paid at the higher rank and to all intents and purposes hold that higher rank, albeit temporarily. In contrast, the prefix "A" (denoting "Acting") is used for those who are 'acting up', for example, A/PS (Acting Police Sergeant, formally denoted by two chevrons in the Metropolitan Police Service) or A/DS (Acting Detective Sergeant). Acting and Temporary ranks have the powers of that higher rank, so long as they are so designated by a senior officer. For example, a Sergeant may act as an Inspector as long as this is approved by a Superintendent or above.

[5] Shoulder numbers Sergeants, Constables, Special Constables and PCSOs all carry " shoulder numbers " on their epaulettes. These are still called "collar numbers" in some forces, since that is where they used to be worn, although all forces now actually wear them on the epaulettes. In most forces these are simple numbers, with 1 to 5 digits. The Metropolitan Police, being a much bigger force, uses a different system: Sergeant - Borough Code and 1 or 2 digits Constable - Borough Code and 3 digits (Though Metropolitan Police constables based in the borough Westminster have 4 digits.) Special Constable - Borough Code and 4 digits, usually beginning with the number 5. PCSO - Borough Code and 4 digits, the first digit being a 7 or an 8 The Borough Code is a two-letter code preceding collar numbers. Before the reorganisation into boroughs, each division had a different code. A few other forces still use divisional codes.

Traffic Wardens Traffic Wardens are administered by the police and exercise some police powers to control traffic or issue Fixed Penalty Notices for traffic offences; their epaulettes bear their shoulder number and the words TRAFFIC WARDEN. They are not to be confused with local authority "Parking Attendants" whose powers are generally limited to issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for breaches of parking laws on highways or in local authority car parks and compelling the production of a Disabled parking permit (Blue Badge) for inspection. References COMMONWEALTH POLICE RANKS & INSIGNIA COMMONWEALTH POLICE RANKS AND INSIGNIA INTRODUCTION Police services of member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations typically use variants of the same system of ranks and rank insignia, which is based on that established by the British Army and used (with varying degrees of accuracy ) by nearly all Commonwealth armies. The purpose of ranks and rank insignia is to identify people's positions within a hierarchy clearly, and this system is very good at doing so where it is employed correctly. However, a number of flaws have arisen and there is an unwarranted degree of complication and inconsistency, all detrimental to this purpose.

The object of this article is to establish, without being inconsistent with the general traditions of police ranks and rank insignia of Commonwealth countries (and other places that use the same system), the best possible standard model for the ranks and rank insignia, taking into account the need to accommodate variations due to the different circumstances of individual services. Variants of the same system are used by other types of uniformed public services (such as fire, ambulance, border security and prison services) and the same sorts of problems have arisen in many of these organisations. Therefore much of this article is relevant to non-military uniformed public services generally. RANK STRUCTURE FLAWS Having an excessive number of ranks results in a top-heavy rank structure, unnecessary bureaucracy, inefficient supervision, people holding ranks that are higher than their roles warrant, and an overly-complicated and restrictive promotion system. The number of ranks an organisation requires depends largely on the number of levels of supervision, and the number of levels of supervision depends largely on the size of the organisation.

With any rank structure the distribution of personnel by rank must be more-or-less triangular ï¿½ the higher the rank, the fewer people there are who hold the rank ï¿½ or the organisational system will not function properly and resources will be wasted. Some organisations ï¿½ even if they have the right number of ranks ï¿½ have ranks in the wrong positions, typically lower than they ought to be (which is not always clearly evident). It is reasonable to believe that a rank has the same status that it had in the past and that a rank in one organisation is at least comparable to the same rank in a similar organisation. Designating people with ranks that are superior to their actual positions is misleading; it makes those ranks less meaningful than they ought to be, which is detrimental to morale; and the impression of self-aggrandisement it presents damages the dignity and credibility of the organisation. Even if this practice didn't have negative consequences, there still wouldn't be anything to gain from it. Under-ranking (i.e. holding a rank that is less than commensurate with the level of authority and responsibility) is much less of an issue than over-ranking.

In fact under-ranking can be regarded as commendable, being indicative of higher standards and rejection of aggrandisement. Nevertheless, under-ranking can be misleading and under-ranking by more than one level should be avoided. Promotion should not be regarded as a right. To reward people for long service, meritorious conduct or possessing valuable skills is not the reason for having a rank structure. Commendations, medals, pay increases (without promotion) and other things can be used for this purpose. For most ranks, whether a promotion takes place should be a result of the organisation's need for an additional person of a particular rank. In these cases the selection of a person for promotion should be based primarily on merit. There are instances where promotion may be virtually automatic on fulfilling certain criteria, and these cases are where people are promoted between ranks that are in terms of function several grades of the same rank. A promotion should not occur if it's likely to contribute to undermining the soundness of the organisational system. RELEVANCE OF MILITARY RANKS Because the rank structure and insignia are derived from army ranks and insignia, army ranks are therefore the appropriate model for comparison and shall be used as such in this article.

It is desirable that police ranks be at least approximately equivalent to their military counterparts ï¿½ or, taking into account the fact that flaws exist in military rank structures, what their military counterparts should be. Having the same name as its military counterpart is a compulsion to ensure that a rank can be legitimately regarded as equivalent. OMITTING RANKS A complication is that, whereas in military services unneeded ranks are almost always omitted simply in order of seniority, in police services ranks are omitted non-consecutively in many more cases, and different services omit ranks at different levels. To have more than one rank for each level of command may not be necessary. Ranks can be omitted non-consecutively without diminishing the level of authority or responsibility ï¿½ or any other attribute ï¿½ of remaining ranks (so such alteration should not occur). NON-COMMISSIONED RANKS Generally, unlike military services, police services do not have separate career streams for commissioned and non-commissioned ranks. This means that if the rank of Sergeant is as high as it should be, higher non-commissioned ranks are unnecessary. Omitting rank(s) below Sergeant is common.

At least one rank below Sergeant must exist, and the existence of at least two of them is expedient in order to avoid top-heaviness. There are two main approaches where non-commissioned ranks are concerned: ï¿½ Police services with a paramilitary ethos have the army ranks of Sergeant, Corporal and (unless omitted) Lance Corporal, but with Constable instead of Private. ï¿½ More commonly a service has Sergeant with one or more constable ranks, Senior Constable being the common title for the highest. Both are acceptable (depending on the traditions of individual services). The purpose of sergeants, corporals and lance corporals is to provide leadership, so there has to be a sufficient number of people for them to lead. Owing to a lack of commonality where the title of the second-lowest constable rank is concerned, what should be regarded as the 'standard' title remains a question.

(Pending resolution of this issue, in this article the second-lowest constable rank shall be distinguished merely by a Roman numeral.) The best arrangements, and therefore what should be regarded as the acceptable arrangements, are: ï¿½ For services with a paramilitary ethos, either ï¿½ - Sergeant, Corporal, Lance Corporal (if the number of people at this level is appropriately small), Constable; or - Sergeant, Corporal, Constable I, Constable. ï¿½ For other services ï¿½ Sergeant, Senior Constable, Constable I, Constable. Note: the second-lowest rank can be omitted. Trainee titles (e.g. Cadet, Recruit) are beyond the scope of this article. MIDDLE RANKS NUMBER OF RANKS There are seven army ranks from Second Lieutenant to Brigadier, but these ranks encompass only four levels in a typical military chain of command (platoon or equivalent, company or equivalent, battalion or equivalent, and brigade). A similar discrepancy exists in police services. This means that it is feasible to omit several of the corresponding police ranks non-consecutively without diminishing the level of authority or responsibility of the remaining ranks.

Small services require fewer levels of command than others so they may omit more ranks. TITLES The most common police ranks between sergeant and commissioner ranks are (in ascending order) Inspector, Chief Inspector, Superintendent, Chief Superintendent, and (less commonly) Commander. The army ranks of Second Lieutenant to Captain comprise the company officer rank class, and Major to Brigadier comprise the field officer rank class. Commander and superintendent ranks coincide neatly with field officer ranks. Inspector ranks coincide neatly with company officer ranks. Hong Kong's police service has designated the second-lowest superintendent and inspector ranks Senior Superintendent and Senior Inspector (Superintendent and Inspector being a level lower respectively). Making the title of the second-lowest superintendent or inspector rank distinctive by adding something like 'senior' is problematic. It does not accommodate the practice of non-consecutive omission well. Omitting the lowest inspector rank is very common, and the lowest superintendent rank is also omitted in many services. It would be nonsensical to have Senior Superintendent and Senior Inspector without Superintendent or Inspector to be senior to. The right course of action is to have an additional word for the lowest superintendent and inspector ranks. 'Deputy' is the best choice. Deputy Commissioner provides a conspicuous precedent.

A number of police services already have Deputy Superintendent. The position of Deputy Superintendent and Deputy Inspector in relation to Superintendent and Inspector respectively is as clear as it is possible to be. It accommodates the practice of non-consecutive omission very well. In such cases the lowest commissioned ranks would inevitably be Chief Inspector and Inspector. If a superintendent rank were omitted, a service might have Chief Superintendent and Superintendent; or Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent; or the less likely combination of Chief Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent, which is still tidy even if one of the words seems redundant. Army: Deputy Inspector COMMANDER & EQUIVALENT COMMISSIONER RANK An army may have Brigadier or the different but equivalent rank of Brigadier-General (not both). The former is a field officer rank and the latter is a general rank. The same principle applies to their police counterparts. A police service may have Commander or an equivalent commissioner rank. COMMISSIONER RANKS TITLES The head of an army holds a rank that is commensurate with the size of the service.

For example, if it's approximately division-size, its head will be a major-general; if it's approximately corps-size, its head will be a lieutenant-general; if it's approximately field army-size, its head will be a 'full' general. In effect unneeded general ranks are omitted in order of seniority. In contrast the head of a police service normally holds the rank of Commissioner whatever its size, and unneeded commissioner ranks are omitted in reverse order of seniority. Commissioner ranks normally include (in order of seniority) Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner. Some services are large enough for an additional commissioner rank to be justified. Several services have made the mistake of interrupting the usual sequence by adding a commissioner rank above, instead of below, Assistant Commissioner, which causes needless inconsistency and hinders the ability to recognise a rank easily and accurately. Deputy Assistant Commissioner is the best choice. It is added below Assistant Commissioner, the title is tidy, its style is consistent with that of the others, and the position of the rank is self-evident.

(Prominent users of this rank include London's Metropolitan Police Service and Singapore's police service.) 'CHIEF CONSTABLE' In most of the the United Kingdom's police services the term 'chief constable' supplants 'commissioner' (i.e. Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, and Assistant Chief Constable). However, other than the difference in the words themselves, they are effectively the same as commissioner ranks. Where this article mentions the word 'commissioner', 'chief constable' can be substituted in relation to services that use chief constable ranks. There is no adequate reason for something other than chief constable ranks to be regarded as an alternative to commissioner ranks. COMMISSIONER RANKS AT OR BELOW COLONEL LEVEL It's common for small police services to have one or more commissioner ranks at or below Colonel level, which is not ideal. It is possible to avoid such an arrangement by having a clear difference between the appointment and rank of the head of a service (e.g. a person holding the appointment of Chief of Police might hold the rank of Superintendent).

However, this would defy convention and the existence of a commissioner rank at or below Colonel level ï¿½ though not ideal ï¿½ is a tolerable practice, being within the limits of what is customary (after all, we're not talking about general ranks). This exception need ï¿½ and therefore should ï¿½ apply only to the head of a service. That rank insignia of commissioner ranks are unique to those ranks (owing to the inclusion of the tipstaves device) means that they are clearly represented as ranks that are subject to this broad variation in seniority. THE LEVELS OF THE HIGHEST RANKS Two things must be considered to determine the appropriate levels for the highest ranks of a police service: ï¿½ The overall size of the service, to ensure that the head of the service doesn't rank too low. ï¿½ The size of the largest command within the service (being a command that isn't excessively large owing to a poorly-conceived organisational structure), to ensure that the head of the service outranks the head of this organisation.

If only the size of the largest organisation in the service were considered and it was just assumed that the head of the service must rank one level higher than the head of this organisation, it's possible that the head of the service would rank lower than he/she is entitled to. For example, the military rank commensurate with command of half a dozen Colonel level organisations is Major-General, not the rank between Colonel and Major-General. A police service might not be much bigger than the largest organisation within it (typically the territorial policing command), so it's possible that its head may be entitled to the same rank level as the head of the service. To avoid the head of a service having the same rank as the head of the largest organisation in it, either the former should be upgraded by one level or the latter should be downgraded by one level, depending on the circumstances.

For example, if the head of a service and the head of the largest organisation in it were equivalent to Lieutenant-General, but only marginally in the latter's case, and the next most senior commanders were equivalent to Brigadier (with only the deputy head of the largest organisation at Major-General level), it would be best to downgrade the head and deputy head of the largest organisation and leave the head of the service at Lieutenant-General level. Conversely, if there were no such gap, upgrading the head of the service would be preferable, as it is better to over-rank only one person who isn't outranked by any other member anyway than to under-rank several people. This would probably be the correct option in most cases. DEPUTY HEAD OF A SERVICE The second-highest rank is used in either of two ways. It may be limited to the actual deputy of the head of a service (below, left), or it may be used for one or more other positions, including command positions (below, right). Limiting the rank to the deputy head of a service often results in one or both of the highest ranks being unnecessarily represented as higher than they actually are. This arrangement should be abolished in such cases.

If the second-highest rank is limited to the deputy head of the sevice and it's at or below Colonel level, it shouldn't be a commissioner rank. For example: It's perfectly feasible for a service to have an official deputy head without that person being the only one to hold his/her rank. It's often the case that the head of the largest organisation in a service should hold that rank as well. DETECTIVES The titles of members of plain-clothed investigative organisations comprise their ranks preceded by the word 'Detective'. For example, Detective Constable, Detective Senior Constable, Detective Sergeant, and so on. 'Detective' could be, but need not be, added to commissioner ranks (a number of services don't add it to commissioner ranks). Even if they're experienced in detective work and in charge of detectives, people who hold these ranks are almost always above the levels where actual detective work is carried out. RANK INSIGNIA INTRODUCTION Problems with poorly devised rank structures are exacerbated by ranks having the wrong insignia. For example, the London Metropolitan Police gives Commander the badge of a commissioner rank, while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police gives a commissioner rank the insignia appropriate for Commander.

Other RCMP commissioner ranks are misrepresented as generals while the Met's Deputy Commissioner appears to outrank his own boss (the Met's current arrangement isn't even close to the best way of doing it wrong). Not only do Australian police services have too many sergeants (usually divided between Sergeant and Senior Sergeant), Australian senior sergeants are typically represented by the insignia of Warrant Officer Class II, a rank that no Australian police service has. RELEVANCE OF MILITARY INSIGNIA That army-style rank insignia are used means that there is a compulsion to ensure that police ranks are not less than approximately equivalent to the army ranks represented by the same insignia (except where a commissioner ranks at or below Colonel level). That army-style rank insignia are used also means that the correct specifications for police rank insignia (including things like cap peak ornamentation and gorget patches) coincide with the correct specifications for army rank insignia. OMITTING RANKS & INSIGNIA Omitting ranks non-consecutively must not result in altering insignia of remaining ranks. Omissions may look untidy on a rank insignia chart, but that has no practical significance.

GOLD & SILVER In Commonwealth countries gold buttons, buckles and insignia are generally worn in military and maritime services, whereas civilian non-maritime uniformed public services generally wear silver buttons, buckles and insignia. It's a good rule, but it's applicability depends on the strength of tradition of individual organisations. Exceptions include silver for armoured corps and gold for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Gold insignia look right for the RCMP ï¿½ for the Tasmania Police they look very odd. Nevertheless, whether insignia are gold or silver has no bearing on whether ranks are represented accurately. DEVICES FOR REPRESENTING SPECIFIC RANKS Ranks are represented using army rank devices according to the same formula, except that there is to be no Field Marshal-style design (because there is no police counterpart of that rank) and the Mameluke sword and baton device that is distinctive to general ranks is supplanted by a device that is distinctive to commissioner ranks. This device comprises crossed tipstaves superimposed on a wreath. There is a case for removing the wreath, the argument being that the wreath doesn't add anything to its meaning and it makes commissioner insignia look too much like Field Marshal insignia.

Some police services currently use the Mameluke sword and baton device, which is wrong for two reasons. First and foremost, this design refers only to general ranks. Secondly, the ranks of police officers who wear this device are often significantly lower than the ranks of soldiers who are entitled to the same insignia arrangements. General ranks' Commissioner ranks' tipstaves with and without wreath The crowns on the ends of the tipstaves are supplanted as appropriate. The tipstaves themselves are supplanted by different devices in non-police services. The other devices are: ï¿½ Downward-pointing chevron. ï¿½ Star. The star depicted in the charts below is that used in countries whose monarch is that of the UK (which is based on the star of the Order of the Bath), but the design may vary to any extent as long as it remains a star. ï¿½ Crown/national emblem. Services of countries with a crowned head of state use the relevant crown. Services of countries without a crowned head of state use a national emblem instead, which obviously must not be a star (see above).

These illustrations demonstrate how the system can be applied correctly in various countries: Superintendent: Appropriate method of wear (in accordance with what is customary for different ranks): ï¿½ Dress coats and mess jackets, commissioned ranks: metallic devices on epaulettes. ï¿½ Dress coats and mess jackets, sergeants and below: cloth insignia on upper sleeves. ï¿½ Shirts, jumpers and utility garments, commissioned ranks: shoulder slides . ï¿½ Shirts, jumpers and utility garments, sergeants and below: shoulder slides or cloth insignia on upper sleeves. INSIGNIA REPRESENTING RANK CLASSES Commissioned army ranks are divided between several classes and different rank classes have different items of uniform or insignia. This custom is emulated by police and other non-military uniformed public services. The correct arrangement for each rank is derived from that of its military counterpart. Army officers have ornamentation on the peaks of their blue dress caps. The (correct) designs are: ï¿½ A stripe along the outer edge. ï¿½ Oak leaves along the outer edge (Colonel and Brigadier). ï¿½ Oak leaves along both edges (Brigadier-General and above).

Lieutenant-colonels and majors (i.e. field officers who aren't senior officers) are entitled to a gold stripe along the outer edge of the peak of the blue (or equivalent) ceremonial dress cap. In some armies, or parts of some armies, the same is worn by all company officers as well. (It's not worn on the service dress cap at all.) Some people have suggested that all field and company officers below 'full' Colonel should have the stripe (citing the fact that junior commissioned ranks have the same cap badges as non-commissioned ranks) and others favour abolishing it altogether. Perhaps the best option is to 'split the difference': all field and company officers below 'full' Colonel should have a stripe, but one that's noticeably narrower than a row of senior officers' oak leaves. In armies 'full' colonels and higher-ranking officers have gorget patches. The correct embellishments are: ï¿½ For Colonel and Brigadier, a strip of cloth braid (on patches for coats) or double-length of cord (on patches for shirts). ï¿½ For Brigadier-General and above, gold oak leaves and acorns (on patches for coats) or gold double-length of cord (on patches for shirts).

ARMY:

Question: In the British Police Force, what rank is indicated by a crown on each shoulder?
Answer: Superintendent